Cadenza Triste
by Hitsugi Zirkus
Summary: Collab with gugeta. Once born into a noble family, you're born to fly; you're born to fight. It's their duty with their powers over Abyss to bring stability, now more than ever with the presence of rebels and the Baskervilles. In this world of hierarchy and power that Elliot Nightray is born into, he comes to learn bearing wings doesn't give the freedom it promises. Elliot/Leo
1. Prologue

**A/N**: Greetings all! Hitsugi here once again with more Elliot/Leo fanfictions for the world -bows- THIS TIME I AM NOT ALONE HOWEVER. This fanfiction is a collaboration between me and Geta here! 'Tis harder than we imagined, but nevertheless we'll approach this story with vigor and determination!

Geta: Hello everyone. As Ren said, this story required quite a bit of work, especially since I haven't produced anything this long recently. Things have been pretty hectic, but it's pleasing to work with her; the ideas we kept throwing at each other was probably the most fun part of us starting. I hope you'll enjoy this story as we both put our hearts to it. Happy reading.

Hitsugi: Let us begin then! Since it's the prologue, it'll be a bit short, but please enjoy!

**_Prologue_**

The Abyss is to be used, not freed. That was the only truth.

How could a person wish for a mass of unlimited power to cover the world? How could one's mind be as foolish as to think they could control it?

The lights were only a trap. Something beautiful would never bring any good - that's how life had written it. A pretty flower will use the bug. A beautiful woman will seduce the males, powdering her nose with grinded fragments of broken hearts. Charm was a privilege, and those who were smarter knew better than to fall for it.

People with dreams - it was both a thing of beauty and terror. If a mind is born of light and pureness, it will have noble goals. Such were treasured and grown to be good people. But if the being crawled out of the womb with a twisted mind already, it could not be moulded into anything else. Inevitably, they were the most dangerous threats to society. Especially if they had ambitions mixed with power.

Rooting out ordinary people was easy. But a bigger, deeper something that could barely be grasped was a challenge. Eliminating was to be done swiftly and without delay. That was the only problem, knowing the measurements that would need to be taken, and possible consequences. How could you trample on an old and respected name without getting bitten in the foot by its allies?

Only one way. Make the crowd believe you're right about crushing them.

"…The crimes therefore are: hiding a connection with the Abyss by which not acting according to the law where it is stated that the Five Dukedoms shall have equal measures of gaining access to Abyss and share the knowledge on it as it might cause danger to both civilians and Terzistas. Exploring areas that are forbidden to enter without another Duke or Duchess. Posing threat to the whole society by preaching about dangerous ideas and insisting on acting upon them."

The punishment was nothing the world had ever seen before. They made sure of it.

The shrieking sound pierced the woods. Some of the guards shifted uncomfortably, showing their obvious discomfort or even disgust at both the view and stench. Only the Heads stood calmly, watching the gruesome act displayed before them. Lumps of flesh were sliding down the beautiful crimson wings to the ground, revealing a rotting inside and the pearl whiteness of bones.

One of the convicts crawled towards the small crowd, tears streaming down his face together with saliva. He tried begging for mercy, but vomit soon shut him up. A man with a soft and seemingly painful smile stepped forward, kneeling right beside the half dead unfortunate person.

"I'm sorry you have to suffer like this," he whispered, wiping the secretion away. "But that's how I play."

The gurgling sound of blood in the convict's throat soon could be heard, followed by quiet laughter.

All was well in the world.

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**Ending A/N:** Comments/critiques/reviews would be much appreciated by us! -bows deeply- The first chapter should be out soon, so please stick with us!


	2. 1st Song

**A/N**: Hello to everyone! Hitsugi talking. As promised, the first chapter came rather quickly (even though we've been working on it for a while...). Nevertheless, 'tis complete! Even though there's not a lot of dialogue, I enjoyed writing this one with Geta a lot. It's amazing how this is going so far though, and hopefully we can continue to progress! -smiles-

Both Geta and I hope you'll like it. Please enjoy -bows-

**_1st Song_**

Sunlight passed through his closed eyelids in bright little illuminations. Elliot blinked once then twice, attempting to rouse himself from his sleep even when he was only about half aware of his surroundings. Somewhere off outside the nest, a streaming melody poured in from his window, focusing his attention. He stirred a bit more. The lyrical waves were familiar to him, as were the staccato-pointed notes bouncing in the air that were all distinctly his older sister Vanessa's style of singing. She must've been out on the Perch singing the Morning Song to wake the others in the Nightray home. That got him to straighten up, shattering the beauty of the song and growing morning as he nearly fell out of his chair.

Oh Abyss, it was morning. He had fallen asleep in the middle of studying it looked like, if the open history book was anything to go by. A small string of saliva bridged from the corner of his mouth to a puddle of drool on one of the book's pages, right over a picture depicting the Baskerville's denouncement. Elliot quickly wiped it all off, his mind still trying to catch up with the time. When had he fallen asleep? How come Vanessa hadn't woken him up?

Muttering under his breath to himself, Elliot started picking up his things, gathering his textbooks that he borrowed from the Latowidge library earlier that week. He stretched with books in hand, his wings giving a little shudder as he worked to get his blood circulating. Falling asleep in a chair definitely wasn't the most comfortable thing, and being next to the window, some stray leaves from the thick oak they lived in littered the floor and on top of the sleek wood of his desk. Out of all the Four Great Dukedoms, the Nightrays were blessed with the most children, yet they had found a nice home within the generous branches of the enormous oak. Elliot liked it, but sometimes wondered if it was just a bit too secluded; it was a bit of a distance he had to fly from home to Latowidge, and the other three dukedoms lived closer together from one another. His older siblings had shrugged and said the seclusion was probably part of the charm their father had seen in it. Elliot bent down to pick up some of the autumn-turned leaves.

Somewhere in the middle of trying to clean up his desk, Vanessa's Morning Song ended. He was pretty sure where her next destination would be, and sure enough there came a flapping of wings seconds later, and a shadow passed over Elliot's window. Vanessa stepped in through the sill, her tidy black and white wings curling around her gracefully as she came into the room.

"I covered for you just now," she said pointedly, arching a brow.

Trying to hold back a pout, Elliot said, "You could've woken me up, Nessa. It was my turn."

His only sister's expression softened, the blue eyes all the Nightrays had shimmering in the sunlight. "Yes, but I knew you were working hard studying all night. I thought maybe you needed more sleep."

Elliot pushed some more of his textbooks into his bookshelf. They were much too thick for his tastes, and depicted nothing much of his interest. But as he got older, his father became to get more stern about his studies. As a son of a ducal family, it was an unspoken agreement that one day he'd join the ranks of Pandora. He had heard about the same things all his life though - Pandora, Abyss, the Baskervilles... He didn't know why he had to get into historical matters in order to carry out a job in Pandora to eradicate those who abused Abyss and became illegal Terzistas. It was his duty as a son of Nightray however, so he'd bite back all of his complaints and take his tasks obediently.

"Fine, I'll chalk it up as me owing you later," he promised. He didn't like performing the Morning Song about as much as he disliked studying history however, and was actually glad he didn't have to go through with it that day. It wasn't that he couldn't sing, more like it was a lot more comfortable for him to perform music through his fingers when he sat down with his piano. He couldn't exactly do the Morning Song with that, though.

Vanessa came up behind him and slung her arms over his shoulders. "No need. I'm happy to help out my baby brother," she said cheerfully. It always amazed Elliot how cordial she could be with him, when she had the tendency to spit venom out in public. He knew of a handful of avians sent crying back to their nest because of Vanessa's silvertongue. No one would believe him if he told someone about this brother-complex of hers.

He jumped when she tugged at his hair. "Hey! What was that for?"

A leaf, red-orange and lobed, tickled his nose. "This was in your hair. Seriously, you should close your window sometimes," she chastised, but she was smirking as he slipped out of her arms.

"I was just getting to that," he murmured in embarrassment, taking the leaf from her and tossing it outside, closing the glass-cased doors. He was debating whether or not to get his sister out of his room long enough that maybe he could sleep in for another fifteen minutes when he noticed the worried stare Vanessa was giving him. "What? Do I got a caterpillar on me too?"

"Well, it's just that you're acting like you've got all the time in the world," Vanessa said, crossing her arms. Arching her brows, she leaned toward him. "Didn't Father need you right after the Morning Song to run an errand for Pandora?"

Elliot wanted to say no. He wanted to say he could've sworn that was for the next day, which was why he spent all last night studying. But he knew that Vanessa, for all the things she could say in criticism about their father, had her attentiveness rated second only to Claude's. She wouldn't miss Father's words like that. Elliot slapped his hands over his face. "Oh Abyss, you're right!" He tore off the wrinkled, drool-spotted shirt he had on and raced to his closet to yank aside some fresh clothing, thankful when Vanessa pointedly looked away as he buttoned up his new shirt.

Still in the process of fastening the collar of his jacket behind his neck, he called out a quick, "Thanks for reminding me, Nessa," before running for the door. Or at least he would have had he not been held back by one of his wings. "What now!?"

"Where do you think you're going with your feathers rumpled like that?" she began in her authoritative tone. Elliot wasn't particularly fond of this tone - it indicated full-on sister hen mode, and he simply did not have the time for that. Not when Father valued promptness, no matter the circumstances or time of day. He yelped when a singular piece of his plumage was yanked from his wing. "Aha, look at this, Elly! When was the last time you sat down to preen your feathers? Come, I'll do it for you right now."

Elliot nearly stumbled more than once when he was dragged across the room and made to sit cross-legged on the floor as Vanessa sat in the chair behind him. "Now don't move your wings a muscle, you hear?" she instructed, her fingers already moving through the black feathers.

"Vanessa, please, I don't have time for this, you know I don't!" Elliot protested. He jolted as Vanessa worked between tangled feathers. "Ow, that hurts!"

"Don't be such a baby - look, I'm already done." With one last tug at the fluffy black plumage, she leaned back on the chair and sighed. "You really do need to get a servant, you have to look proper out there." Her fingers tapped the surface of the desk rhythmically as Elliot stood up and brushed off the dust from his pants.

The daily reminder was right on time - knowing that he would be gone for the whole day, there would be no other chance for his sibling to say it but now. Elliot scrunched up his face a bit. "I'm really going to be late now, I'll have to grab my breakfast there." The same prompt was already starting to get tiresome. He couldn't just choose someone like his siblings' personal servants. Those people were good at their job, but had revolting personalities, which included slyness, sneakiness and kissing everyone's asses if they were in a higher position than them. It was unpleasant to even think of having one of the same species serve him. "I'm off!" Elliot shouted as he dashed through his bedroom's door, spreading out his wings and gliding down straight to the first floor. He could hear Vanessa shouting about how many times she told him to use the stairs. The youngest Nightray decided to apologize later, as now the only two choices were either being scolded by his sister or the Duke Nightray himself. The latter one would definitely be worse.

Soft tweets and chirps wavered across the round site dedicated for landing and taking off. Sun, shining through the thick cover of leaves fell on Elliot's face as he entered the irregularly-shaped point. His wings were still a bit stiff from sleeping in an uncomfortable position all night so the boy stretched them out and flapped a bit, trying to get ready for the flight. No one liked falling down, after all.

Autumn really was the best and most appealing time to fly, the young Nightray thought as he stepped right to the edge of the platform. Looking down at the huge height he was currently at sent a small shiver down Elliot's spine; the thought alone of what was so natural by now was still a little bit exciting. One moment and all of it would depend on him. He took one huge step into the vacant space, letting himself plummet down.

It seemed so slow, but Elliot knew he had no more but a second to do something, otherwise he would hit the ground. The long raven wings, fully stretched out now, shifted along his body to the left side, letting him glide down and catch a better current. The rising air lifted him up as he circled around a bit in order to get a better feeling of the cool air movement. Or, at least that's what they taught you about it. For Elliot, it was just a habit picked up from flying lessons with his brothers and, later, his teacher. What took place of instructions and rules was pure intuition, which he was rather proud of. Not everyone could say they felt exactly free in the domain of the sky.

Picking up the pace by starting to flap, Elliot got to Duke Nightray's private study as quickly as he could. Usually it took a lot longer since his father resided at the right top of their living tree, where it was a lot more cold and difficult to breathe. That was another thing his brothers would say appealed to their father.

"He always was a bit of the full of himself sort," Ernest would mutter under his breath. Usually that would earn him a scolding from Claude, who was undoubtedly the most faithful to their father, even if he could be a bit meek sometimes.

Fred, their oldest sibling, would only shrug, hardly glancing up from his chess match with Claude as he shortly concluded, "It's the Nightray pride."

Easing up on the strength of the beating of his wings, Elliot deftly landed down right before his father's door. It hung heavily on its hinges, dark and smooth and looking somewhat out of place in the beauty of the autumn sunlight - and there, carved neatly right at the top center was the crow, unyielding and mysterious; their family symbol. Elliot rapped his knuckles firmly right beside it and waited for to be granted his invitation inside. He had barely pulled his hand away when his father's voice beckoned him in, saying the door was open. Straightening up a bit, Elliot went inside.

Duke Bernard Nightray had a naturally stern face, as if he were always displeased with something; even when he gave his children the occasional praise, it was always with that face, like he didn't mean it. So when he told Elliot that he was entrusting him with an important task, it looked to Elliot more like his father was offhandedly sending him on some insignificant errand. Duke Nightray was there at his desk like usual, scribbling away at some document or another, curtains almost closed only to let in enough light for reading; him sitting there was his natural setting and truthfully seeing him out and about always seemed like an out of place thing for Elliot. Even so, he knew well of the great, powerful wings furled primly around his father, the feathers having a more coarse appearance than the other Nightrays, but it matched the dark waves of his hair and beard.

"Good morning, Father," Elliot greeted with a small nod of his head.

"Elliot. Good, you're on time. I have something I need you to do for me." His father finished up whatever he was writing and set his pen down, opening up a drawer. He beckoned Elliot over, holding out an envelope to him. "I need you to deliver this to Duke Barma straightaway. He'll have a long meeting to attend to later in the evening so now is the only time to have this brought to him. You'll find him at Pandora."

"What is it?"

"Just some official matters," came the terse reply.

Elliot turned the envelope over in his hands, looking at his father's scrawl of Rufus Barma's name and the wax seal with the Nightray crow on it.

As if taking the blond's actions for hesitation, Duke Nightray asked, "Can I entrust this to you? Or should I fetch one of your brothers?"

The words made an effect. Elliot's eyes shot back to his father instantly, something clenching inside of him tightly into a ball. "As a member of the Nightrays, I have to be able to do this." He lowered his hand which still held on to the letter, the smaller wings of a son unfolding just a few inches more.

His father accepted the gesture as well as the words with a nod of his head. "I leave it to you then," he said, waving his hand dismissively and saying not a word more as he went back to his work. He didn't need to give Elliot any repeat of instructions or reassurance. As Elliot was taught nearly all his life, a Nightray needed no such things.

Exiting the dark and suffocating atmosphere back into the surprisingly blue skies of autumn let Elliot's tense mood loosen up. His father wasn't the sort of person to relax around - it always reminded the boy that he was still not responsible enough like a Nightray should be. He tucked the letter securely into the inner pocket of his jacket and took off without any delay. It would be a long journey, and it would be perfect to arrive before midday. He knew just the route to take though that would lead him to his destination the fastest, and Elliot veered his flight accordingly until he could finally flap his wings more evenly, his mind drifting off along with the soft breeze that held him aloft.

Surroundings didn't change for a few hours- what could be noticed was only plains with occasional shrubs and animals that looked like little spots on the seemingly soft earth. However, it only seemed safe and welcoming: nobles, more than anyone else, knew that Spirits roam together with the innocent creatures of plains and meadows. Dangerous, unpredictable beings of the Abyss were not something to mess around with without any reason. Commoners never came to these specific locations, huddling more around bodies of water and forests where nobles lived. Little towns always had at least one blue blood family keeping the people safe as part of their duties as Pandora members. However, there always were those foolish enough, or rather just unlucky who would become victims of a wild Spirit.

"Living in a place in the middle of a vast field had its own merits," Elliot's father said whenever he heard of such incidents. It definitely wasn't one of the most secure spots in the world, but the enormous oak that extended far up into the sky was far more than enough to feel at ease. And yet, it was forbidden for the blond to set a foot upon the ground right under them until 'you get a Spirit Bird of your own and some brain to realize it's not smart even if you had the powers of a Duke himself', or so his brother Ernest would say. That usually earned him an earful from Vanessa who would usually hang out with her brothers as much as she could. But, even so, she agreed that setting a foot down there would be a mouse's favour for the cat.

A dark cloud loomed over Elliot's head, hiding the warm rays of sun with its puffy grey mass. Looking back, there was a similar string of shapes tagging along, foreboding a rainstorm. For autumn, it wasn't unusual weather, but unpleasant nevertheless in case you weren't inside of a house. Even if he didn't worry about getting wet, the Nightray boy also worried about the state of the letter and the possibility of it getting soaked along with himself. Fortunately, the Abysmal Forest was already near - only a few more minutes and he would reach it just in time to hide from the rain.

Even if it was the fastest route he picked from many more, Elliot still wasn't sure it was entirely a good idea. Just like the name annotated, it was a sinister place, but it wasn't only the thick leaf crowns that cut off every single bit of light from the lower parts of the forest that made it so. What made the cluster of trees so cryptic and avoided were stories of all those who had to pass through it, stimulated by tales of something even more horrific than Spirits residing somewhere deep down, hidden by darkness and thick flora that had adapted to the harsh conditions, mostly poisonous weeds. A lot of speculations, gossips, real and made-up stories of creatures part human, part creature of the underworld lurking in the shadows, devouring everything living it crosses paths with.

Another testimony that was discussed even among Pandora members and the only one Elliot actually considered being real reported of small commoner wings that were left behind. It was said to litter the main forest path in several places, little carnivorous animals crowding around the vomit-inducing piles and tearing off the flesh off from the bones. Or, simply put, the result of Illegal contracts with Earth Spirits. Upon finally entering the forest, the thought alone swirled inside of Elliot's head. It would be dangerous to encounter a defected Terzista on such conditions - no weapon, protecting an important letter, in the darkness. That was one bad combo. But, even so, he had no other choice but to head into the sunless obscurity without any delay.

Glancing down, his eyes still adjusting to the lack of light, Elliot could distinguish huge bushes and lengthy flowers with white blooms sprouting in clusters. There were also huge trunks laying around, barely covered by anything but various types of fungi. His path itself was very hard to navigate through as the branches were, if not thick, very dense in quantity and not possible to entirely evade. For the sixth time already the avian was hit right in the face, leaving a bright thin red mark across his cheek.

Keeping up the same pace through the unwelcoming forest was already getting to Elliot. Everything around looked almost the same no matter how far he went. For how long was the Nightray already travelling? An hour? Two? He frowned. Even if it felt like that, it couldn't have been more than twenty minutes. Elliot's eyes fixated on a slim brown snake-like line he didn't see at the start._ Is that a pathway...?_ He was already about to stop and look around when he felt a sharp pain in his left wing and realized he was falling.

Trying and trying desperately to stop, Elliot tumbled down, slamming into several branches with his body along the way. It was fruitless effort- but, instead of feeling the impact with the ground, he crashed right into a trap hole. The young blond finally slammed into the strangely wet soil, a crunching sound following right after.

"Bloody hell," he groaned angrily.

Small drops of water slowly dripped on the dirty and battered boy. He blinked. It was a surprise that the rain went through after all, although that would explain why plants grew so big in here. Elliot sat up only to feel all the bruises and wounds in a wave of pain. It was difficult to breathe, but he was sure the ribs weren't broken. Slowly leaning forward, the boy confirmed his suspicions about his left wing being broken. It hurt like hell, a lot more than any other minor scratches.

Getting on his feet was far more easy to decide than get done; after few unsuccessful tries, Elliot leaned back, kicking the wall in frustration. His legs were giving him a lot more trouble than they were supposed to. That was no doubt because of the extensive fall he had, and Elliot cursed under his breath. If the avian could only stand up, he would surely just climb out as the hole was only a little bit wider than his height and only deep enough to contain little animals. It was a surprise Elliot didn't hit his head more badly - the wings, most certainly, reduced the impact.

The only option left was to try over and over again until he would succeed. Elliot clenched his jaw, deliberately ignoring the stinging and pulsating pain his whole body mustered in a scream of protest. If only those legs listened to him-

"What do we have here this time?"

A messy head appeared over the edge, with what could be called an expression of mild interest. That was absolutely the opposite of Elliot's reaction - his whole face had dumbstruck written all over it. He hadn't even heard the newcomer approach the hole, and more than surprised it wasn't some wild Spirit was the shock that it was actually another avian. But that couldn't be right. There was no possible way someone else could be in the forest, not unless you had your sanity and maybe a Spirit on you. Elliot would've thought he'd imagined the person completely if they didn't come a little closer to the hole, making a surprised sound.

"My… I definitely can't eat that," the newcomer said with a tsk, oblivious to Elliot's whirling thoughts.

_That_, Elliot repeated incredulously in his head. _Just who in the world_… "Who the hell are you?!"

"It talks, too," continued the sardonic musings. Finally addressing Elliot directly, the boy -_ it's a boy, right?_ - said sharply, "Maybe you should introduce yourself first, and tell me what you're doing in my forest."

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**Ending A/N**: It begins~ Please leave a comment if you liked! Any feedback is much appreciated by us~


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